Monthly Archives: August 2014

BIRMINGHAM, AL: Studio Whale, a startup founded by Matthew Sheets, has created a product named “Starfish” that aims to prevent infant deaths in hot cars by notifying your smartphone when you have possibly left your child in the car.

Sheets spoke about the device, saying “On average, one child dies in a hot car every nine days in the United States(1). With Starfish, we aim to make that number zero. As a new father, hearing the news of yet another infant losing his life in a hot car horrified me. I asked myself, ‘How? Why? What can be done?’ The search for answers prompted me to start developing a device that could easily prevent these tragedies from happening. That device is Starfish.”

Starfish is a weight-activated seat sensor that notifies your smartphone when you’ve left a certain area – say your car – without your child. Starfish uses Bluetooth to pair with your iPhone or Android phone, and it fits snugly in your child’s car seat. When you place your child on the Starfish device, it automatically pairs with your smartphone, sending you a notification that your child is in his or her seat. When activated, Starfish then creates a “geo-fence” radius around itself. If you leave the “geo-fenced” area (around 20 feet), Starfish will automatically notify you that your child may be in danger. As an added layer of protection, Starfish can notify your emergency contacts if you haven’t responded to the notification after 5 minutes.

Starfish is currently on Kickstarter, a crowd-funding platform allowing the public to join in the development of Starfish by backing its production. Backing Studio Whale for $50 reserves a Starfish, expected to ship in December 2014. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattbsheets/starfish)

Why Starfish?

Sheets further explained the importance of the Starfish device saying, “For me, this technology is all about saving lives. If the trend continues, 40 U.S. children will perish from hot car incidents this year alone. Starfish is a simple way to prevent these tragedies from happening. Kickstarter has opened new doors for products to go straight into the hands of people who can use them the most, while offering a great way to get real world feedback. We want everyone to be part of Starfish’s story! With enough support, we will enter production by October, and have plans to ship beta units by November and first runs by December. Please back, support, or share our project with friends and family!”

About Studio Whale: Studio Whale was founded by Matthew Sheets in Birmingham, Alabama.

Four years ago, Casey Allred says he went to India to help reform and improve education and discovered an entirely different problem that compelled him to act: sex trafficking of young, school-age girls. He explains that when he set up his first school as part of the nonprofit he launched called […]

Patrick Kitano has been looking at crowdfunding for a long time and has come up with some of the biggest innovations in the space since the first crowdfunding sites were launched over a decade ago.

He explained it to me this way:

The current crowdfunding model is inadequate, it needs to adopt the “investment banking model” of syndication and marketing for campaigns. Investment banks “share” campaigns through syndication, crowdfunding portals don’t. Investment banks do local dog and pony shows to actively recruit investors, with portals, project creators are on their own with no way to easily connect to local investors.

BNN Funding has created a new crowdfunding marketing methodology. First, it exposes campaigns nationally to “Trending Topics”. But the exposure is simply marketing, it doesn’t translate into conversions. Second, BNN Funding builds advocate networks to support the campaign to local levels.

Since we have the marketing infrastructure to instantly expose campaigns nationally, we can create campaigns in 24 hours. Crowdfunding is timing, we can launch campaigns instantly to take advantage of breaking news. For example, next week we’re launching a crowdfunding campaign to expose the problems associated with Detroit’s bankruptcy.

On Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 1:00 Eastern, Pat will join me for a live discussion about his new platform and how nonprofits can take advantage of his new technology. Tune in here then to watch the interview.

BNN Funding develops crowdfunding campaigns by adding national marketing support leveraging The Breaking News Network, the largest hyperlocal media network devoted to social good covering over 400 cities. This “collaborative crowdfunding” upends the traditional crowdfunding model by involving media and partners that share the values of the crowdfunding project to actively support campaigns down to local levels.

Pat Kitano founded @BNNFunding, first crowdfunding platform w/ national advocate marketing support & @theBNN, a 400-city hyperlocal media network devoted to social good. Patrick is also a member of the Social Venture Network.

Siblings Elizabeth and Spencer Powers have created an ingenious way to help the homeless and disabled and they are raising money on Kickstarter to expand their reach. The Powers have created Artlifting, a program that enables them to help artists among the homeless and disabled to monetize their art.

Recently, we caught up with them to learn more about it. Here is what they told us:

What is the social benefit you hope to achieve with or through your crowdfunding campaign?

We are siblings from Boston who are passionate about creating jobs for homeless and disabled individuals. We have worked with disadvantaged individuals for the last 8 years and saw a striking problem: homeless and disabled individuals across the country create amazing art but have no way to share it with the wider community. Our solution was creating a professional online gallery that features homeless and disabled artists, called ArtLifting. We sell prints and originals of our artists’ artwork to customers on our website, as well as directly to businesses looking to decorate their walls with beautiful and inspiring art.

We launched ArtLifting in Boston with our savings on a shoestring budget and our first four artists have experienced great financial and confidence gains from being able to sell their work through ArtLifting. We launched a Kickstarter campaign to help us add 65+ new artists to our platform in 5 new cities (or more!). Our aim would be to bring the same financial and confidence benefits to artists across America and provide reliable income to disadvantaged individuals by helping them sell their art through our gallery.

How much money are you hoping to raise and why? How much have you raised so far?

We are looking to raise $20,000 to reach 65 new artists in 5 cities. At the time of submission, we have raised $6,826. We will use the $20,000 to travel to the 5 new cities we aim to add to our platform, to purchase professional photography and video equipment for photographing art and videotaping interviews with our artists, and for marketing spending. These funds will enable us to create professional marketing that treats our artists with the respect that they deserve. Being featured on a professional online art gallery will help homeless and disabled individuals earn their own money and build self-esteem.

Whom are you trying to help with your project and why?

We aim to help homeless, disabled, and other disadvantaged individuals sell their artwork through a professional gallery. Sales through ArtLifting help art move from the closets of homeless shelters to worldwide sales. Without ArtLifting, the thousands of homeless and disabled individuals across the country have no means to sell their artwork scalably. By selling prints and originals of artwork we are changing lives. People who previously went unnoticed are now receiving national attention for their talents. By focusing on the strengths of homeless and disabled individuals, we are helping them build confidence and increasing understanding across our community.

What rewards, if any, are you offering to your supporters?

Our rewards range from ArtLifting personalized thank you cards ($25) to canvas and art supplies ($100) to a beautiful framed ArtLifting print ($1000) to meeting an artist and the founders ($2500).

A new crowdfunding site is now focusing specifically on animal welfare. Sarah Timms is the founder of LoveAnimals.org that gives nonprofits and animal lovers alike a place where they can raise money to care for animals in need.

On Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 5:00 Eastern, Sarah will join me for a live discussion about the new platform and how users can help serve and protect animals more effectively by using the site. Tune in here then to watch the interview live.

LoveAnimals.org is an exciting new nonprofit crowdfunding platform dedicated to helping animals and wildlife. We use innovative technology to dramatically increase donations to animal welfare and wildlife conservation groups who currently receive only 2% of all giving. At LoveAnimals.org: 1) Nonprofits —particularly small, isolated, rural organizations that often lack visibility beyond the communities in which they operate—can easily showcase their projects most in need of funding. 2) Animal Lovers can run crowdfunding campaigns to support their favorite causes or to raise money for veterinary care for pets3) Donors have an easy and convenient online giving platform where they choose from a wide array of projects and control how their donations are spent. At LoveAnimals.org, animal lovers can take a few minutes, give a few dollars and have a big impact for animals.

Sarah’s bio:

Sarah is the Founder and President of LoveAnimals.org, a new nonprofit using innovative crowdfunding technology to dramatically increase giving to the animal welfare and wildlife conservation sector. Before launching LoveAnimals.org, Sarah worked in animal welfare philanthropy as the Program Officer for the Animal Assistance Foundation, where she helped oversee the charitable distribution of $1.2 million annually. Sarah currently serves on the Woman’s Council for the Leeds School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado. The mission of the Women’s Council is to provide access and connection for students to successful women business leaders. Sarah is an attorney (licensed in the U.K.). She practiced law in London and Spain for 2 years at Bird & Bird, the leading Intellectual Property Firm in the UK which in 2012, received acknowledgment by The Financial Times as one of Europe’s top 20 most innovative firms with over 50% of clients listed in the Forbes 100 Most Innovative Companies.

Recently, I caught up with Aria for a quick interview. Here’s what she told me:

What is the social benefit you hope to achieve with or through your crowdfunding campaign?

We live in a society where we are constantly giving financial support to companies that are actually warming the planet, and destroying our habitat and resources. I plan to highlight and promote sustainable companies, linking people to their green businesses and technologies, helping empower them to be a part of the solution. The idea is to create sustainability between our economy and our environment. I will put a strong emphasis on companies that help lower our carbon footprint. Therefore, people will be living lives that help create a pathway to a safer and healthier future for our children.

I think many people have developed a sense of apathy about the direction we are heading on the planet, because they do not see how they can really make a difference. However, we have the ability to use the economy to our benefit, sending strong messages to corporations that refuse to change their destructive habits, but we need power in numbers and knowledge. And this gap needs to be filled in a way that is appealing and actionable for the masses. With the production of the web-series, ‘Revolution Earth’ to be integrated into this plan, this is the gap I plan to fill.

How much money are you hoping to raise and why? How much have you raised so far?

My campaign goal is $16,360.

We need funds to buy time to build a healthy foundation for The Global Cooling Project web-site, and bring us into pre-production for the Web-Series. Honestly, more than this is needed to assure the level of production I would like to see for this project. But we need to build the site, and create some solid partnerships with sustainable businesses, technologies, and organizations, building a cross promotion network. We will also need lawyer services and consults with a business specialist to help make sure we have a sound structure, and LLC put in place.

The web-series, called ‘Revolution Earth’ has a basic story structure in place. There are some key plot points, and some critical characters that have been built, but I plan on working with a professional writer to help flesh out the details, and to make sure the entire series is solid. The key is for the series to be so engaging, exciting, romantic, and sexy, that it appeals to the escapist desires in people. But it also needs to educate and inspire people to become a part of the solution at the same time.

I plan to create a solid teaser, or, if I have enough, a pilot episode at the end of this. But if we raise much more than this, we could get the entire series made. Right now, we have about $2,300 so we have much more to go! There has been amazing progress behind the scenes, amazing people reaching out, and offering support and some powerful connections, but we really need more funds to keep pushing through!

Oh, and the odd number? I thought I’d put a little good luck in the number. Our end date is September 16th, and 360 is a Revolution of the Earth!

I could say I’m trying to help the planet. And I am. But of course, people argue it will survive without us. And it will. Whatever tainted, and mutated version of it could always survive… But. The health and well being of the creatures upon the planet could be questionable. And, who will be hurt the most if we refuse to make changes? Our future generations… Mainly, our children.

If things continue, we will be leaving them with a system built on self destruction. We will be allowing an economy that puts dollars before their lives. And I don’t believe that’s an acceptable option. It’s our jobs as parents and grandparents to do more than that. It’s our job not only to find solutions, but to use them. And it’s not always easy, but it can be a lot easier than we think it is. We just haven’t been encouraged to see it.

So it’s entirely selfish. I don’t want to believe that I’m giving my daughter a world of droughts, and fires, and floods, and hurricanes like the one she experienced with Hurricane Sandy. I want to believe there will be hope for her to have a flourishing food supply, so that people are not fighting over it. I want her, and future generations to look back with gratitude for what we did. I don’t want them to look at their parents generation, and think, what the hell did they do to us? What the hell did they do to our planet?

What rewards, if any, are you offering to your supporters?

I am primarily offering a lot of recognition based rewards. I have a lot of friends who are artists, and in the film community, so the idea is that various levels of exposure for their crafts could be valuable. Also, I was concerned about the expense and environmental impact of making a lot products that may not be utilized. We’re giving away autographed photos from cast members, script copies, special access to events, a producer credit, exposure on the website, and various special thanks in the series.. We are also giving special ‘MADE POSSIBLE BY’ title cards for the show at various levels.

Honestly, the model for the Indie Gogo campaign is very similar to the model I was wanting to create for sustainable companies and organizations. I wanted to create the structure within the campaign, so I could get started on building some of those key relationships and begin affiliations with companies I would like to promote. I would still really like to build these kinds of relationships as early as I can. The key is that the planet and future generations will be benefited when people switch to their services or products, or become involved with their organizations.

Dr. Carol Lynn George, founder of 32ATPs, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her raise money for her research around producing a radically more eco-friendly battery. She’s running her campaign on Experiment.com.

Recently, I caught up with Carol to ask a few questions: here is our interview:

What is the social benefit you hope to achieve with or through your crowdfunding campaign?

The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste. It is imperative and incumbent on us as a society to reduce our waste from the production of consumer electronics. All electronic scrap components, including batteries, can contain environmental contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants. Electrical waste not only contains hazardous, but also valuable and scarce materials. Up to 60 different elements can be found in complex electronics. An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. For example, the USA discards 30 million computers and Europe, 100 million phones each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators. According to a report by UNEP titled, “Recycling – from E-Waste to Resources,” the amount of e-waste being produced – including mobile phones and computers – could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in some countries, such as India. The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste, tossing away about 3 million tons each year. China already produces about 2.3 million tons (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States. There is no question that the development of greener energy production and storage devices is a must for the 21st century.

How much money are you hoping to raise and why? How much have you raised so far?

I formed 32ATPs in part to be able to partner with academic faculty to drive phase “1-3” research. In the fall, my partner, Dr. Shelley Minteer and I will finally realize our dream of applying for our first SBIR grant together!! Dr. Minteer is an expert in her field and has previously successfully brought several technical innovations to market.

In order to start working right away on our project, the development of “Biological Supercapacitors,” we have decided to take advantage of an event occurring on this Monday with the crowdfunding platform called “Experiment”. You may have heard of Experiment, formerly Microryza, the crowdfunding site for BASIC research. The event this Monday will celebrate the “millionth” dollar raised using this platform and will be attended by many philanthropists and patrons of scientific research. That is a HUGE win for science everywhere!!!

We are looking to raise $5,000 total- roughly half of that will cover our lab rental space at Utah’s very own “BioInnovation Gateway” and half will cover the reagents to get us started using the shared capital equipment in that space until our SBIR (a federal small business innovation grant that will drive the majority of the research) grant is awarded, or about 3 months. And yes, we will be mentoring Utah’s brightest young high school student, fulfilling the education mission of BiG.

We are only asking for very small donations from each of our supporters- essentially to PROVE to the financial backers that will be participating in Monday’s event that our community believes that Dr. Minteer and I are the right team to bring this innovation to market.

Whom are you trying to help with your project and why?

We hope that this work will benefit society as a whole on a larger scale, it is to fund a basic research project. Our initial sites are set on the consumer electronic products market, but this work, in theory, could be extended to any items that use a power supply, such as electric cars or medical devices.

COLUMBUS, OH (August 25, 2014) – Havoyoco today announced its upcoming crowdfunding campaign – which will raise funds for a project to help families in war-torn Somalia.

“Women and young children are currently living in transient camps, as their homes have been demolished – or are no longer safe,” explained Mohammed Hassan, Havoyoco Chief Executive Director. “We are raising funds to build homes for 120 families, so that they no longer have to live in tents in refugee camps.”

In addition to building homes for over 100 families, Havoyoco will build a medical center, school and two deep water wells to deliver safe drinking water to the families.

“These families have endured unthinkable tragedy,” continued Hassan. “Imagine a rail-thin, barefoot child waiting in line for a bucket of water to haul back to a flimsy tent where his family waits – trying to escape from the harsh winds. These conditions are not temporary for these families; they have nowhere to go, and no opportunities for secure housing.”

“We will build permanent homes to transform their lives – giving them back their dignity, and providing them with opportunities to build a better life with their basic needs being met. These families are victims of decades of war and corrupt government. They have endured drought and famine, but Havoyoco wants to save these families and give them hope for a better future.”

Havoyoco needs YOUR help. In order to build the homes, school and medical facility, the organization needs to raise $1.4 million. To get started with Phase I of the project, Havoyoco needs to raise $20,000. Backers are asked to give what they can – no matter the amount at http://igg.me/at/havoyoco. Crowdfunding on Indiegogo will begin on August 26th

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — GlobalGiving, a US-based nonprofit, has launched an Ebola Epidemic Relief Fund to enable individual donors, foundations, and companies to donate to locally-driven Ebola relief efforts in West Africa. As international aid workers continue to leave the affected countries for their own safety, these local organizations will play a critical role in containing the outbreak. The Fund supports projects from nearly a dozen nonprofits that have been thoroughly vetted by GlobalGiving.

So far more than 1,500 individual donors have given more than $260,000 to Ebola projects on the GlobalGiving website. On August 14, 2014, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation provided $100,000 in matching funds to encourage individual donors to take action against Ebola. The $100,000 was matched with donations from 739 donors in fewer than four days.

One of the projects receiving funding is a free outpatient hospital in Lakka, Sierra Leone. The hospital is in need of protective clothing for hospital staff and more supplies for the Ebola isolation tents that have been set up on the property.

Another recipient is a community-based organization called West Point Women for Health and Development, made up of resident community healthcare workers from the largest slum in Monrovia, Liberia. The West Point slum was highlighted in the news this past week when community members raided an Ebola isolation clinic. These actions make it clear that there is a need for locally-led education and sensitization around the epidemic. The West Point Women are well positioned to engage in culturally-relevant training around Ebola awareness and prevention. Donations will provide educational materials, personal protective equipment, and stipends to support these women who are the key to preventing a devastating outbreak in the overcrowded slum.

“After Thursday’s announcement from the World Health Organization that the number of Ebola cases has been vastly underestimated in West Africa, it’s clear that there’s still much to be done to stop the outbreak,” said Britt Lake, GlobalGiving’s Director of Programs. “We’re grateful for this support from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and the hundreds of individual donors who have given to these much-needed efforts to stem the crisis in West Africa.”

In addition to the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, corporate partners such as the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation have supported Ebola relief. Lilly is matching their employee contributions, providing more than $14,000 so far. GlobalGiving invites other companies and institutional donors to email partnerships@globalgiving.org for more information about working together to support local organizations fighting Ebola.

About GlobalGiving:

GlobalGiving is the first and largest global crowdfunding community for nonprofits. Since 2002, GlobalGiving has helped raise more than $140 million from more than 380,000 donors for more than 10,000 projects. Because GlobalGiving works with nonprofit organizations in more than 150 countries, when disasters like the Ebola outbreak occur, GlobalGiving can quickly deliver funds to locally-driven organizations that are best-suited to provide relief in their own communities.

Native Americans have long been one of America’s most marginalized peoples, but these proud peoples have a vibrant culture that has helped shape modern American society. That is why it is so very important to recognize the plight of so many Native Americans. Many of them reside on reservations with little financial support, struggle with alcoholism and addiction, and suffer from a variety of illnesses that are prevalent only in Native American communities.

The Sheena V. Foundation is a 501 (c3) charitable organization that raises awareness about the hardships that Native Americans and, especially, Native American children endure on reservations. In an effort to help more of these children take advantage of educational and financial opportunities, the Sheena V. Foundation has sponsored the First Annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Event.

This event is intended to spotlight the many tragedies that Native Americans have endured in their history, including the forced relocation of the Five Civilized Tribes — Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Muscogee (Creek) and Chickasaw nations which occurred from 1830 to 1858. This brutal and merciless march killed thousands of innocent men, women and children who were forced to leave their ancient homelands and only homes they knew and travel on foot across thousands of miles.

The Trail of Tears was marked by violent resistance, inhuman treatment and terrible plagues. This tragedy occurred in spite of promises made to these tribes by the U.S. government, and was largely attributable to renewed pressure from Americans who wished to settle these fertile lands. U.S. soldiers and Georgia militia hunted down and apprehended many of those who resisted including 14,000 Creeks. These armed forces destroyed crops, burned homes and savaged families. The Seminole tribe fought vehemently when they discovered the treachery of the U.S. government, but were eventually quelled and forced to make the march in chains. Soldiers placed 2,500 Creek in shackles as well.

During the actual march, thousands died from the harsh conditions. Almost 500 of the Chickasaw tribe died from smallpox alone. Almost a quarter of the Cherokee nation succumbed to disease along the way. Upon finally reaching the bleak lands of Oklahoma, the survivors established their own governments and took up the herculean task of caring for their grieving members who had seen mothers, fathers, siblings and children die during the unrelenting march.

The First Annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Event is also intended to inspire corporate and private sponsors to contribute to helping Native American children. Many of these children grow up in crippling poverty, without hope for a future. Thousands of these kids suffer from illnesses and cancers unique to these communities; most of whom lack the money to receive proper medical treatment. The First Annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Event will showcase programs that the Sheena V. Foundation is currently developing to help these forgotten Native American communities. These programs include educational services designed increase employability and entry into higher institutions of learning. The foundation’s counseling programs are designed to help prevent alcohol and drug dependency as well as address issues like depression.

The Sheena V. Foundation is currently sponsoring a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo. Every dollar donated is tax deductible and will go towards improving the life of a Native American child. In return for your generous contribution, you may be eligible for promotional space online and offline, as well as the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped bring hope to some of America’s most underprivileged. In addition to making a financial contribution, you are also encouraged to share the First Annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Event with others in your community and on social media. To learn more about the First Annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Event or to make a donation, please visit:https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/remembering-the-trail-of-tears